Parenting is often one of the most vital aspects of any child’s life. We are who we are because of our parents. Active parenting normally ends at around 18 in a child’s life. At this age, it is either your child is properly raised or he turns out to be a bad kid. Parenting teenagers can turn ou being a burden. It is not always easy because teenagers are kind of complicated than we think. We might think we have it all figured out not knowing we are losing our kids. So what is it we often ignore about our teenagers?
Teenagers will keep secrets.
At the age of 5, you know everything about your child. You know their diaper size, their toys, and even the food they like. They are typically a bundle of joy. At 12, your kid tells you almost everything. They describe their experiences in school and fill you in about their unrealistic ambitions
Trouble comes beckoning once they start their teenage years. It doesn’t matter how long you have known your son or daughter, they will always be keeping secrets. This is a fact most parents find had to come to terms with. The earlier you accept this the sooner you can work on a solution.
It might be a secret crush, a secret lover, or even new experiences they do not want you to find out. The amount of secrets they will keep from you depends on how much open you are with them. If you are strict, shout, and authoritative type, you are in for a shock on the number of secrets buried right under your nose.
Bullying is still an issue among teenagers.
We can brag all day about how society has evolved. Mankind is more civilized and is open to change. Sometimes not everything changes and evolves as we always hope. There are tiny aspects we usually play ignorant about that affect the lives of our young ones.
What parents expect is your son or daughter to come from school and tell you if they are bullied. Bullying is no more beating up a student or even taking lunch money. I guess bullying has also evolved. It does not take place in school anymore its everywhere.
Your child may be even bullied in your own house. Cyberbullying is real and it has increased massively since 2011. Teenagers get abused on social media platforms every day. Some are body shamed and even impersonated.
Believe it or not, they will not talk about this freely. Some might think it is normal or even be ashamed about the topic. The effects of cyberbullying will not show on your child physically. Your teen will slowly start going into depression and before you know it he/she may lash out on you.
Teenagers can be stressed.
All adults are stressed about one thing or another. Some might even be stressed about their teenagers. In your process of stressing you might not know your teenager is somewhere stressed to the bone. We might take it as a joke and tell them they are too young to be stressed.
Stress can affect your child’s attitude and even their mental health. Stress can even cause a change in your teen’s character. At this point you start questioning yourself and where you went wrong. Some parents might even end up arguing and punishing without knowing the root cause
Technology also plays a role in stressing your kid. You might think they are fine but deep down on that screen, they are pressured to be celebrities. They are concerned about how their social media platform looks like. Your teenage daughter might even be heartbroken by a crush.
Of course, you will not know all this and might just assume its kids being kids. Little do you know that your kid is mentally depressed. Another cause of stress is underestimating your children and their ability. The comments you make about what they decide to do might end up causing stress.
In this case, nagging them might not be the best solution. You will need to understand why he is stressed and how you can help them counter that stress.
Teenagers are sexually active.
This something most parents are hell-bent on shying away from. You need to know your teenager is an adolescent and they are going to change. This topic is crucial in understanding your teenager’s behavior. You might think it is weird but its something you should talk about.
Your son or daughter might not confess about being involved in a relationship. You might just notice it in form of regular mood swings and phone addiction. Once you find out don’t be strict and shun your child over such critical talks.
If this aspect is worked upon by all parents we might just curb teenage pregnancies or young boys being involved in early fatherhood. So stop being a coward and ashamed of talking about sex in your child’s life, man up to avert future regrets.
These are just a few facts you might fail to notice when parenting teenagers. It all comes down to communication and understanding between the parent and the child. So don’t be focused on punishments instead think of improving your relationship with your child.
